Which to use
“traître” is a noun and “traîtres” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,495
- “traître” frequency rank
- #15,053
- “traîtres” frequency rank
- 26548
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | traître | traîtres |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personne qui trahit. | Masculin pluriel de traître. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set traître and traîtres apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: traître and traîtres carry the same recorded pronunciation, \tʁɛtʁ\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “traître” sits inside “traîtres”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26548, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
traître is recorded at frequency rank #11,495, classified as anoun, pronounced \tʁɛtʁ\. traîtres is at rank #15,053, tagged as anadj, pronounced \tʁɛtʁ\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 26548, this pair ranks #334,328 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of traître vs traîtres
Shared letters: aertî. Private to "traître": -. Private to "traîtres": s.
"traître" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV · "traîtres" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCCVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "traître" and "traîtres" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "traître" or "traîtres"?
Remembering traître vs traîtres
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “traître”; for an adjective, it's “traîtres”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “traître” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable